Biography

It all started when…

Claudia Mason was born and raised in New York City. Her mother was an actress and a dancer, and is a writer, editor and activist. Her father is a playwright and novelist and was a theatre critic for the New York Times. Growing up in such an artistic household heavily influenced Claudia, who started studying ballet at the age of five and trained at the prestigious School of American Ballet.

Claudia was a dance student at New York City’s High School for the Performing Arts when she was discovered at a music store by a scout from Elite Modeling Agency. She went on to become one of the world’s top models, working with designers including Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Versace, Armani, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein. She was also featured on the covers of such magazines as Vogue, W, Mademoiselle, Elle, Cosmopolitan and numerous foreign publications. She starred in prestigious fashion campaigns for Versace, Anne Klein, Fendi, amongst others. She worked with all the world’s greatest fashion photographers from the late Richard Avedon to Bruce Weber, Patrick DeMarchelier, Steven Meisel, Steven Klein, Peter Lindbergh and Mario Testino, to name a few.

MTV hired her to host their fashion special, “Fashionably Loud”. She was also featured in Woody Allen’s film “Celebrity”. However, it was her appearance in Enrique Iglesias’ music video for the song “Rhythm Divine” that caught Hollywood’s attention. She subsequently landed roles in the independent films SCHMOOZER, DISCOVERING DAISY, LAX, LIME SALTED LOVE, and a leading role in the independent feature film OUTPATIENT.

Her theatre credits include THE YEARS and BEYOND THERAPY (HB Foundation Theatre), NYC; TWO SHIPS PASSING (Pan Andreas Theatre), LA, for which she was named Outstanding Female Actor In A Lead Role. A highly successful, critically acclaimed run of Tennessee Williams’ ORPHEUS DESCENDING in LA, for which she produced as well as starred in. This production was nominated for Best Revival of a Play by the LADCC for LA Theatre in 2010. She also received Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actress for her portrayal of Carol Cutrere in ORPHEUS DESCENDING.

She has appeared on Television as a guest star on CBS’s CSI:NY, and How I met Your Mother; on Fox’s Kitchen Confidential, as well as on ABC’s October Road among others.

She starred in director/writer, Ramaa Mosley’s, short film GRACE, in a role that was written for her, and she had a starring cameo in THE BRASS TEAPOT, Ms. Mosley’s first feature film that was accepted into TIFF in 2012, where it was subsequently picked up by Magnolia Films.

She portrayed Charlotte in the U.K. indie, HERE LIES, the second feature film from London based writer/director Duncan Ward in 2014. That same year she starred as Venus, in an original play in NY called THE GODDESS, directed by Alice Jankell.

She continues to work as a high fashion model, most recently for Harper’s Bazaar Japan, Italian Vogue, Russian Vogue, Love Magazine, VVV and Twin.

Claudia’s first book, FINDING THE SUPERMODEL IN YOU, The Insider’s Guide to Teen Modeling (Skyhorse Publishing) came out in 2016.

She has a TV series under development with EUE Sokolow Entertainment for 2018.

Claudia has expanded her influence by adding the role of speaker to her already vast resume. She particularly enjoys guiding women of all ages, her theme being: “Build your Super Life”. As she says, “It’s an inside job”.

She is a spokesperson for the American Stroke Association (ASA). She herself is a stroke survivor, having suffered a minor stroke from a freak accident. She has fully recovered but remains devoted to spreading the word about stroke prevention, early signs and treatment.